The work of divisional forest officers, conservators, and chief conservators posted at the district level and involved in field activities such as those related to the Forest Rights Act, land acquisition, ecotourism, or mining activities in forest areas will be appraised by district collectors and divisional commissioners separately, according to a government order issued by the Madhya Pradesh government on June 29. Indian Forest Service officers have expressed concern about this order, pointing out that it violates Supreme Court orders and could lead to situations where senior officers are appraised by those juniors to them.
They have also made clear that, particularly when it comes to matters like mining rights, the goals of forest officials (conservation) and so-called revenue officials (maximization of revenue) may occasionally conflict.
The order further stated that the revenue department officials will also grade (out of 10) the performance of field forest officials on these issues. The remarks made by the Indian Administrative Service officers will be included in their annual confidential report (ACR), which will be examined by senior Indian Forest Service officers.
Without a doubt, non-field officials who hold posts in the department or secretariat will not be covered by this rating method. The directive stated that they will be evaluated by their seniors through the standard process.
The marking and assessment by DC apply only to field officials and only related to projects in defined areas. The Madhya Pradesh government issued an order on June 29th, which stipulated the submission route for the annual performance assessment reports (APARs) of IFS personnel.
The submission route runs from DFO to PCCF. The same order states that the district collector and divisional commissioner in question will assess the joint forest management projects, matters pertaining to the Forest Rights Act, land acquisition, ecotourism, mining operations in forested areas, redevelopment projects, and other significant works completed by divisional forest officers, conservators of forests, and chief conservators of forests by assigning a number out of ten and providing comments in the APAR. The directive would take effect in 2024–2025, according to a July letter from IFS Association Delhi to the chief minister of the MP
“The Madhya Pradesh government has passed an order that is against the Supreme Court’s orders.” The primary mandate of Indian Forest Officers is to conserve and protect the nation’s natural resources, and this administrative order will seriously hamper their efforts. The letter further stated that the impugned order goes against the spirit of the Honble Supreme Court’s order and will negatively impact the morale of IFS officers working in the field. Senior officers, such as chief conservators of forests, will be evaluated by DCs, who are officers with much lower pay scales and grades.
“It’s only senior forest officials will write the annual confidential report (ACR) of DFO or CCF but here state government has just asked district collector and divisional commissioner to forward a comment on a separate sheet so that better coordination could be established. If DFO and CCF have any problem with report of collector and commissioner, they can inform their senior about it,” Varnwal said.
The order is very clear, but it is being misinterpreted by a few people, he added.
But an expert pointed out that the order could compromise the independence of forest officials.
“Forest Officers, as custodians of forests and wildlife, often take different stances on development projects compared to the district administration or other state departments, in the interest of forest and wildlife. Such administrative oversight by the district collector directly impacts their independence in performing statutory functions and therefore should be revoked,” said Debadityo Sinha, senior resident fellow and lead, the climate & ecosystems, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
